For Harvey Weinstein, Tuesday’s Golden Globe nominations marked a moment of triumph after a rough couple of years. In the midst of downsizing and financial restructuring, the company led all studios with 12 Globe nominations for the films “Inglourious Basterds” (a co-production with Universal), “Nine” and “A Single Man.”
Weinstein wanted to talk to theWrap in the aftermath of the nominations; he started out in a taciturn mode, but became far more effusive when the talk turned to his company’s films, and its future.
You’ve been involved in plenty of awards seasons over the years. Do you go into a day like Tuesday with expectations, or do you try not to?
You go into that day with hope. And optimism.
So you were optimistic that it would go well?
I was hopeful that it would go well.
Any big surprises for you among the nominations?
I’m never surprised. I was thrilled with the result. You can’t do better than this. It was just all good.
So what did you do that other studios didn’t?
We made better movies. Or good movies. I don’t know. We were lucky. Luck, tenacity, all of the above.
Do you think this will translate to the Oscars, or is that a completely different ball game?
I think that the HFPA is always a big bellwether of Oscar nominations to come.
How different is the climate this year? Given the economy, are you forced to campaign more frugally?
We all are.
So what do you do to get the most bang for your buck?
I think that you really have to have actors and directors generate publicity in the right circles, and do the right things. Like Q&As, where you can get close with the audience. I think that’s really important.
Out of the three Weinstein movies that got Globe nominations, “Inglourious Basterds” was the one that initially seemed to be a lot of fun, but probably not an awards movie. Did you know from the start that it was?
Yeah. The minute I read the script I knew it was going to be in awards season. The script was a masterpiece. You know, Quentin’s a brilliant writer. His scripts are so wildly interesting and innovative that when you read them you just go, “that’s it.”
Does it bother you that Rob Marshall didn’t get a directing nomination for “Nine”?
I’m disappointed, but that happens. It’s been a great year for films and directors, and sometimes I think people don’t take comedies or musicals seriously. I wonder whether Preston Sturges would be getting nominated right now. I don’t know.
When you saw “A Single Man” at Toronto, what made you want it?
I knew Tom Ford, and Tom always says that when he said, “I want to direct a movie,” I was one of those guys who didn’t laugh at him. I always thought that he had a brilliant visual style. But what shocked me about this movie was not the visual style, it was the emotionality, the sensitivity of the piece, and the ensemble’s performance.
